


Meows and Giggles

by Suli



Series: Soft Liquorice [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, jeonghan is sleepy but sweet, jihoon has stars in his eyes, lots of kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 01:29:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15426060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suli/pseuds/Suli
Summary: Coming home to tiny little meows and even littler giggles, Jeonghan could already picture the scene in his head.





	Meows and Giggles

**Author's Note:**

> this was very self-indulgent

At first, it was heartwarming.

 

It all started when Seokmin adopted a puppy that he named Biscuit on account of his small size. The poor little guy was missing a leg, but that didn’t stop him from being energetic, curious, and happy as can be, almost as much as his over-the-moon owner.

Everyone fell in love with Biscuit, but Jihoon, forever the lover of anything small and soft, was particularly enamored. When asked where he adopted the small pup, Seokmin’s eyes lit up and his mouth curled into a wide, bright smile as he described the new shelter that opened in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago.

 

“It’s amazing hyung! They take in any and every animal and don’t ever rest until they get them homes. Everyone there is so nice too. You should go visit sometime, the animals would love you!”

 

Within a week, Jihoon found himself employed. The staff at the shelter were amazed at how good he was with the animals, how genuine and patient he was,  _ particularly _ with cats and timid little kittens. They offered him a job, and though it was simple and the pay wasn’t much, Jihoon’s heart sang at the opportunity to be around and take care of kittens every single day.

 

One day, Jihoon came home beaming. Jeonghan’s eyes glistened with excitement as he saw the carrier in his arms.

“Is that-” he started, a small smile growing on his lips.

“I brought home a friend,” said Jihoon softly as he set the carrier on the ground, staring fondly at the fluffy being inside it.

Jeonghan all but screamed from happiness as he sat down beside Jihoon, who was coaxing the little kitten out of the carrier.

“I couldn’t resist her,” explained Jihoon. He had that special, gorgeous twinkle in his eyes that he got whenever he talked about only three things: music, kittens, and Jeonghan. It was the twinkle that made Jeonghan melt. “She’s been in the shelter almost as long as I have. I loved her from the second I saw her but no one wants to adopt her. I decided I might as well do it myself.”

 

The kitten looked and felt softer than any plushie. She was a tortoiseshell, with one gorgeous grey eye, and the other missing. Timid yet brave at the same time, she walked from Jihoon to Jeonghan, sniffing his hands cautiously. She must have been no more than three months old, too young to be alone in a shelter in Jihoon's opinion. When she placed a little padded paw on Jeonghan’s shin, he scooped her up into his lap, scratching lovingly behind her ears. She meowed happily, the sound high pitched yet soft, and Jeonghan couldn’t help but giggle. He saw why Jihoon fell in love with her: she was absolutely precious.

 

“What’s her name?” asked Jeonghan, voice dripping in affection.

“The staff at the shelter called her Spotty, but I want to give her a new name,” replied Jihoon, scooting closer into Jeonghan’s side to better pet the adorable fluffball.

“Ideas?”

“I was thinking Liquorice, since most of her fur is black.”

“I love it. Our little baby,” whispered Jeonghan, planting a kiss on Jihoon’s temple before resting his head on top of Jihoon’s as the two played with Liquorice, who was getting more and more comfortable and adventurous by the second.

 

Jihoon started bringing home cats and kittens every month, then every few weeks, then almost every day. Liquorice was the only one they adopted, but the other cats would stay for any length of time from a few days to a few weeks. Though their apartment technically wasn’t a foster home, they might as well have been. Slowly but surely, although he loved them, the sheer number of cats and kittens in their small apartment was starting to drive Jeonghan insane, though he'd never admit it.

 

~

 

It was an utterly frigid evening, and Jeonghan’s brain was  _ fried _ . He was exhausted after a long day of work and wanted nothing more than to collapse on a bed (or anything soft in fact) and sleep. But as he approached their bedroom door, he stopped. Tiny little meows and even littler giggles escaped from the gap underneath the door, and all Jeonghan could do was sigh. He could already picture the scene in his head.

 

“Again Jihoon?” he asked, leaning tiredly against the doorway.

Jihoon looked up with a small smile stuck on his face, one that widened when he saw Jeonghan. His eyes were sparkling as though the cosmos were trapped in the dark circles. 

“Hello to you too,” he said, turning back to the small, black kitten jumping over his extended legs. “How was work?”

“Boring, exhausting,” sighed Jeonghan, starting to change out of his work clothes. “Jihoon, this is the third time this week you’ve brought home a kitten.”

“Oh hush they’re all adorable.”

Jeonghan sighed again, pulling a sweater over his head as he moved to sit beside Jihoon on the floor.

“What’s its name?” he asked.

“His name’s T’Challa,” replied Jihoon, smile widening as he scratched behind the little kitten’s whispers.

“And I assume you’re responsible for that?” chuckled Jeonghan teasingly.

“He’s deaf,” continued Jihoon, not registering or perhaps ignoring the comment, “But he’s really clever and brave. He’s gone through his therapy really well.”

 

Oh how Jeonghan adored the way Jihoon’s eyes sparkled whenever he talked about kittens.

 

“Y’know someday I’m going to end up sabotaging you at your job  _ just _ to make you stop bringing home kittens  _ every _ day,” sighed Jeonghan lazily and tiredly as he scooped little T’Challa into his arms.

Jihoon stiffened before leaning against Jeonghan’s back. “Don’t. That’s not funny Hannie.”

Jeonghan turned to kiss Jihoon’s nose, which scrunched up almost instinctively. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. That job makes you so happy, you know I wouldn’t take that away from you.”

Jihoon hummed, almost purred, contentedly against Jeonghan’s back, the sound reverberating soothingly across Jeonghan’s spine. Jeonghan didn’t want to bring up his exasperation, especially not when Jihoon was so happy, but he knew there was only so much more he and the apartment could take.

 

“But Jihoonie, you do know you can’t keep bringing home kittens every day, right?”

“Why not?” pouted Jihoon sleepily, reaching around Jeonghan to pet T’Challa, who was curled up happily against Jeonghan’s chest.

“Because, taking care of kittens is expensive, especially taking care of this many. Plus, I don’t think the landlord would be ecstatic if he found out.”

“The apartment allows pets.”

“Do you think it allows this many?”

Jihoon fell silent at the question. Jeonghan’s heart clenched as he realized Jihoon was really upset. He turned around, back against the bed as he cuddled Jihoon against his chest, placing T’Challa on his boyfriend’s stomach.

“Why do you bring home so many cats Hoonie?” whispered Jeonghan after kissing the back of Jihoon’s head.

“The shelter gets so many kittens every day. Most of them are your average adorable kittens but there are a lot like Liquorice and T’Challa. Ones who people look at and think something is wrong with them when really, they’re just as beautiful. They just look different. I wanna give them a home even if it’s just for a few days, y’know? So they spent time somewhere else other than the shelter.”

 

Jeonghan’s heart clenched as he looked down fondly at Jihoon. A small, affectionate smile painted his face as he listened to his boyfriend speak. When he was done, Jeonghan gently turned Jihoon’s head to give him a soft, loving kiss.

“I’m really proud of you, you know that Hoonie? You’re doing your job so well and you’re really putting all your passion into it. But that still doesn’t mean we can house this many kittens.”

“I know,” sighed Jihoon.

“Listen, how about this. You can bring home one kitten every two weeks, and they can stay with us for a month at most. If the shelter is at full capacity or there’s some sort of emergency, we’ll figure something out then. Best case scenario is that you get free food and litter from the shelter but I wouldn’t count on that.” 

Jihoon laughed, turning to kiss the corner of Jeonghan’s mouth, eyes happy and sparkling once again. Even T’Challa seemed happier, energetically and determinedly climbing up Jihoon’s chest.

 

“Thank you Hannie. You know you could’ve told me if it was starting to bother you.”

“You were so happy, I wasn’t about to ruin that for you. You sure you’re okay with the compromise?”

Jihoon nodded gently, not wanting to disturb the small adventurer on his shoulder. “It’s perfect.”

Jeonghan smiled contentedly, a sleepy but happy yawn coating his body in a mist of lethargy, making his eyelids droopy. He could’ve crawled on the bed, but not only did he lack the energy, but as Liquorice entered the room and curled up next to Jeonghan’s thigh, he realized he was perfectly content where he was.

 

As long as he had Jihoon and little baby Liquorice, Jeonghan could be content no matter where he was.

**Author's Note:**

> i love kittens.  
> i love jeonghoon.  
> this is what you get when i have a stressful few days and write the two combined to heal my soul uwu


End file.
